"Good choice," he nods and starts scribbling in the details, switching between different colors, reds, light blues, and black, decorating Lan Zhan's carefully rendered drawing with his own details.

He has to bite his tongue when he realizes his mistake. Hearing Lan Zhan say 'us' just felt natural, part of their playing along. But it was a reminder that he didn't belong here. This wasn't his Lan Zhan, wasn't his place. But Lan Zhan is the one hurting now, missing the one closest to him.

"Oh, right!" he adds some extra cheer to his voice. "What else should I add for him? Maybe some lotus pods to nibble at later?"